University Of Mississippi To Host Presidential Debate
OXFORD, Miss. The University of Mississippi has been selected to host the first of three presidential debates in 2008.
The announcement was made jointly by the Commission on Presidential Debates in Washington, D.C., and university Chancellor Robert Khayat in Oxford Monday. The debate is slated for Friday, Sept. 26 in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts on the Ole Miss campus.
"We are honored, pleased and grateful for the opportunity to host such an important event," Khayat said. "The footsteps of American history have passed through our campus several times in the last 160 years and they have found their way here again."
UM was among 16 host sites considered nationwide.
Providing extraordinary experiences for Ole Miss students to participate in a major historical event was a significant factor in seeking the bid, said the chancellor.
The university began building its case to host a site more than a year ago, Khayat said. Attention now turns to providing housing, food, transportation, information technology, security and working facilities for the candidates, staff and more than 2,000 national and international journalists expected to cover the debate.
"It is an enormous challenge, but Ole Miss and Oxford are prepared to welcome America and the world to our community," he said.
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